An editorial in Shiv Sena's mouthpiece, Saamna, slammed the Centre for giving space to Kanhaiya Kumar to get away with free publicity in the JNU row.

advertisement

IndiaToday.in

Mumbai

March 7, 2016

UPDATED: March 7, 2016 14:25 IST

Shiv Sena activists. Photo: Reuters

The Shiv Sena has accused the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party of providing free publicity to Jawaharlal Nehru University student leader Kanhaiya Kumar, who was charged with sedition and released on bail last week.

An editorial in Shiv Sena's mouthpiece, Saamna, slammed the Centre for giving space to Kanhaiya Kumar to get away with free publicity in the JNU row.

"Nothing comes for free. So, how come Kanhaiya got the free publicity? Who is responsible for it?" the editorial said.

Comparing Kanhaiya with Hardik Patel, who led the Patel quota stir in Gujarat, the editorial said that Kanhaiya's release from the jail will have a negative impact on the people of the country.

"Hardik Patel who was slapped with the same charge as Kanhaiya is still behind the bars. His (Kanhaiya's) release will have a negative impact on the citizens," it added.

The editorial went on to criticise the Modi government over the Budget proposal of imposing tax on Provident Fund.

"People who work really hard by burning their sweat and blood should get some leverage, by imposing these taxes the government has made it very clear that even the air is not free," Saamna's editorial said.

The Shiv Sena, which is part of the ruling NDA at the Centre, has been critical of the Modi government in the recent past. Relationship between the Shiv Sena and the BJP has nose dived in the past few months, particularly after the Uddhav Thackeray-led party opposed to India hosting Pakistani ghazal singer Ghulam Ali. Ali's concert in Mumbai and Pune were cancelled last year following massive protests by Shiv Sena.